Various types of tools are used to form wellbores in subterranean formations for recovering hydrocarbons such as oil and gas. Examples of such tools include rotary drill bits, hole openers, reamers, and coring bits. Two major categories of rotary drill bits are fixed cutter drill bits and roller cone drill bits. A fixed cutter drill bit (alternately referred to in the art as a “drag bit”) has a plurality of cutting elements, such as polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) cutting elements, at fixed positions on the exterior of a bit body. Fixed cutter bits typically have composite bit bodies comprising a matrix material, and may be referred to in that context as “matrix” drill bits. Roller cone drill bits, by contrast, have at least one, and typically a plurality, of roller cones rotatably mounted to a bit body. A cutting structure, which may include discrete cutting elements and/or an abrasive structure, is affixed to the roller cones, which rotate about their respective roller cone axis while drilling.
Bits are typically selected according to the properties of the formation to be drilled. Fixed-cutter bits work well for certain formations, while roller cone bits work better for others. A large variety of different cutting structures and configurations are available among these two major categories of drill bits, to more particularly specify the drill bit to be used to drill a particular formation.
In a typical drilling application, a drill bit (either fixed-cutter or rotary cone) is rotated to form a wellbore. The drill bit is coupled, either directly or indirectly to a “drill string,” which includes a series of elongated tubular segments connected end-to-end. An assembly of components, referred to as a “bottom-hole assembly” (BHA) may be connected to the downhole end of the drill string. In the case of a fixed-cutter bit, the diameter of the wellbore formed by the drill bit may be defined by the cutting elements disposed at the largest outer diameter of the drill bit. A drilling tool may include one or more depth of cut controllers (DOCCs). A DOCC is a physical structure configured to (e.g., according to their shape and relative positioning on the drilling tool) control the amount that the cutting elements of the drilling tool cut into a geological formation. A DOCC may provide sufficient surface area to engage with the subterranean formation without exceeding the compressive strength of the formation. Conventional DOCCs are fixed on the drilling tool by welding, brazing, or any other suitable attachment method, and are configured to engage with the formation to maintain a pre-determined rate of penetration based on the compressive strength of a given formation.